I've just listened to April Vokey on The Intinerant Angler podcast from Monday February 16th, http://www.itinerantangler.com/podcasts/index.html. For those of you who don't know April, she is a fly fishing guide/instructor and writer, including being a field editor for The Canadian Fly Fisher, and who graced the cover of the October-November 2008 issue of "Salmon, Trout, Steelhead". But April is more than just a "pretty face". Check out Your Adventure Awaits for more information on April and her fly fishing business.

But the main point of this post is the new fundraiser April has started on Facebook called Flies For Fins. It's best to describe it in April's words from the Flies For Fins site:

Listen up!!! This message is for you whether you live in Norway, Oregon or British Columbia?.Our steelhead are suffering and need your help!
I have started a fundraiser called Flies For Fins. I don't want your money, but I do need some of your time and tying materials.
I am working with Reaction Fly and Tackle, Pacific Angler, Michael and Young Fly Shop, Sea-Run Fly and Tackle and Whistler FlyFishing to raise money for the Steelhead Society (steelheadsociety.org).
Each location will carry a cork board that is full of steelhead flies MADE BY YOU. These flies will be sold at the shops, where proceeds will be donated to the Steelhead Society. This money will be put towards habitat restoration and several other similar projects, which ultimately will help to save all anadromous species.
In the middle of each cork board will be a graph that is updated weekly to show how much money has been raised.
Mailing flies only takes a couple stamps (just make sure that they can be flattened in an envelope.)
This is for a great cause, please choose to take some of your time and flies out of your box for it.
We need flies RIGHT NOW, so let's pull together and get on it!!
Flies can be shipped to:

8505 Norman Cres.
Chilliwack, B.C.
Canada
V2P 5C6

Feel free to send one fly, or ten! Make them as fancy or as plain as you would like. Please include your name.

Envelope, stamp, fly. It's that simple.
Please do your part and help us make a difference!

Thank you so much,
April.
Check out the Flies For Fins on Facebook -- great concept -- people tie and donate flies -- these are sold in local fly shops -- funds used to help preserve BC Steelhead stocks -- and educate people too -- and it is Flies For Fins -- those could be any type of "Fin" (or fish) in any part of the country (or even the world) -- this is what April had in mind when she started this up -- so maybe this is something we could do anyhere through local fly shops to raise funds to protect local "Fins" -- my hat's off to April for this great idea -- definitely check out Flies For Fins and join up

Personally, I think this is a great way to raise funds. It doesn't take much more than tying a steelhead pattern, popping it in an envelope, slapping a stamp on it and sending it off to Flies For Fins. Or to buy the flies tied by others who have donated to this worthy cause. I hope you check it out.

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"Fly fishing is solitary, contemplative, misanthropic, scientific in some hands, poetic in others, and laced with aesthetic considerations. It's not even clear if catching fish is actually the point." -John Gierach